The Project for the Old American Century

As I've written several times before, I really like "political art," also known as propaganda. Good political art requires a certain kind of skill. Of course, it is usually heavy-handed, but when done well, it can also be very interesting and provocative.

I was reminded recently of this really good progressive propaganda website called The Project for the Old American Century. Here is their "Statement of Principals." In essence, the group is a reaction to the radical rightwing Project for a New American Century, which formulated the policy foundation for all the lunacy of the Bush years. The folks at The Project for the Old American Century are pissed about all this and are doing something creative about it.

The Project for the Old American Century has a fine collection of propaganda posters patterned on old war posters, advertisements, labor iconography and other government propaganda. They also have other resources at their website, like pamphlets, charts, documents, articles, and more, so I hope you'll click the link above and check it out further over there. In the meantime...

Here are a few of the posters that are critical of the Bush administration and their policies:




These fall under the "say it loud, I'm liberal and proud" category:



Uhhhh... this one sums up the Bush years pretty nicely, I think...


Do you know of any other good political art websites? If so, let me know. Leave a comment...

The Peace Sign Turns 50!

It is supremely fitting in some kind of cosmically ironic way, that the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination is also the 50th anniversary of the peace sign. King was one of the greatest advocates for peace, love and justice of the 20th century and the peace sign is the greatest symbol of peace over the last half century!

Seriosuly, I hope you will take some time today to reflect on the peace sign and on peace, in general. Our world is in so much despair. As Dr. King said,

“We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not yet learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”

How might each of us play a part in creating a more peaceful planet? What might each of us do differently in our lives to help foster a more peaceful and just way of being?

Please, put down your iPod, your laptop, your cellphone, your PDA, and whatever other technology dominates your life, and think about it...

To help you along, here are a few timely resources:

Here is what the Washington Post wrote about the peace sign today. A choice quote:

Unveiled at a British ban-the-bomb rally on April 4, 1958, the peace symbol's peak of potency was in the 1960s, when it was the emblem of the anti-Vietnam War movement and all things groovily counterculture. (Said its late creator, British graphic designer Gerald Holtom: "I drew myself . . . a man in despair . . . put a circle around it to represent the world.") The symbol has marched in service of many causes over the years: civil rights, women's rights, environmentalism, gay rights, anti-apartheid, the nuclear-freeze movement and the latter-day antiwar crowd.

This website is dedicated entirely to the peace sign's 50th b-day!

Or, here are some crazy Euros creating a human peace sign:


And, of course, this anniversary would not be complete without a rendention of "Give Peace a Chance" by John Lennon, this one from Toronto in 1969:

4,000 and Counting...

The grisly death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq continues to rise, even as the media and many citizens have tired of the story, pushing it from front pages. But over the last few days we have seen a slight media blip as total U.S. deaths in Iraq have surpassed the 4,000 mark. In honor of that milestone, political cartoonists across the country have been weighing in. Here are a few examples:













And then there is this image of Bush and McCain, ardent supporters of the ongoing war in Iraq, created with individual headshots of the 4,000 U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq (click to enlarge):

The Winter Soldier Investigation (1971 and 2008)

Beginning today and lasting through the weekend in Silver Spring, Maryland, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are gathering to publicly discuss their experiences in war and to expose the darker side of the U.S.'s recent military efforts. The event is sponsored by Iraq Veterans Against the War and patterned after the original Winter Soldier Investigation, which took place in Detroit in 1971. Pacifica Radio will suspend regular programming for the entire three days to broadcast the hearings. To listen live via the web, click here. To watch live video, click here.

What was the original Winter Soldier Investigation...?

In 1971, members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War gathered in Detroit to hold public hearings about the atrocities and brutality committed by U.S. troops in Southeast Asia. The event was an attempt to get out to the media what these soldiers believed was the truth of their experience in Vietnam in an effort to bring the war to an end. Discharged servicemen from each branch of military service, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed or witnessed during the years of 1963-1970. The purpose of the Winter Soldier Investigation was to prove that incidents like the My Lai massacre were not isolated and rare occurrences, as many government and military officials claimed, but were instead the frequent and predictable result of official American war policy. As one soldier stated, "We gathered not to sensationalize our service but to decry the travesty that was Lt. William Calley's trial for the My Lai Massacre. The U.S. had established the principle of culpability with the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis. Following those principles, we held that if Calley were responsible, so were his superiors up the chain of command — even to the president. The causes of My Lai and the brutality of the Vietnam War were rooted in the policies of our government as executed by our military commanders."

In the end, 109 vets gave testimony and more than 700 others attended. Here are a few brief excerpts:

• Stephen Craig: "...My testimony covers the maltreatment of prisoners, the suspects actually, and a convoy running down an old woman with no reason at all..."

• Rusty Sachs: "...my testimony concerns the leveling of villages for no valid reason, throwing Viet Cong suspects from the aircraft after binding them and gagging them with copper wire..."

• Scott Camil: "...My testimony involves burning of villages with civilians in them, the cutting off of ears, cutting off of heads, torturing of prisoners, calling in of artillery on villages for games, corpsmen killing wounded prisoners..."

• Kenneth Campbell: "...My testimony will consist of eyewitnessing and participating in the calling in of artillery on undefended villages, mutilation of bodies, killing of civilians, mistreatment of civilians..."

• Fred Nienke: "...My testimony includes killing of non-combatants, destruction of Vietnamese property and livestock, use of chemical agents and the use of torture in interpreting prisoners..."

Sadly, with the exception of Pacifica, the mainstream media outside of Detroit refused to cover this courageous event. There were camera crews in attendance, though, and a documentary of the proceedings was released in 1972 and recently rereleased on DVD. Ultimately, the full testimony was read into the Congressional record.

Go to the following YouTube playlist to watch the original Winter Soldier documentary, broken into nine parts, each running ten minutes, except the last part, which runs only 5+ minutes. I hope you will take some time to watch part or all of this historic and important documentary. I also hope you will seek out information on the new Winter Soldier investigation taking place this weekend...

Winter Soldier documentary

UPDATE: This all on the day after Gen. David Petreaus admitted, "Iraqi leaders have failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday." Did you hear that? Petraeus, who is preparing to testify to Congress next month on the Iraq war, said in an interview that "no one" in the U.S. and Iraqi governments "feels that there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation," or in the provision of basic public services.

"Chicago 10"

Here is another interesting trailer... this one for a new animated film about the infamous "Chicago 8" trial in the wake of the 1968 Democratic Convention. The Chicago 8 consisted of seven New Left activists - Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner - and one member of the Black Panther Party - Bobby Seale. Their lawyers were William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass. They faced charges ranging from conspiracy to starting a riot. The trial became a media sensation as it appeared to encapsulate the tensions of the era.

The film combines documentary footage, dramatic voice-overs, rediscovered audio recordings and the same animation technique that was first tried in the film, "Waking Life."

"Let Me Be Clear... Do Not Be Confused"

This is a nice clip of Obama today in Wyoming addressing comments made by his former foreign policy aide, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Samantha Power, and distortions of those comments by Hillary Clinton. It is pretty powerful. Check it out and spread the word...

"We Must Name the System"

Paul Potter, former President of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), originally delivered this renowned speech at the April 17, 1965 March on Washington. Potter offers an insightful critique of our government’s use of the rhetoric of freedom to justify war, and calls for citizens of the United States to create a massive social movement to build a “democratic and humane society in which Vietnams are unthinkable.” Needless to say, it remains relevant today...

This reenactment is a part of the very cool The Port Huron Project, which stages reenactments of protest speeches from the New Left movements of the 1960s and '70s. Each event takes place at the site of the original speech, and is delivered by a performer to an audience of invited guests and passers-by. Videos, audio recordings, and photographs of these performances are presented in various venues and distributed online and on DVD as open-source media.

Check it out (it is well worth it) and spread the word...

Historical Cost of Wars

HISTORICAL COSTS OF U.S. WARS (In 2007 Dollars)

World War II: $3.2 trillion
Iraq and Afghanistan To Date: $695.7 billion
Vietnam War: $670 billion
World War I: $364 billion
Korean War: $295 billion
Persian Gulf War: $94 billion
Civil War (both Union and Confederate costs): $81 billion
Spanish-American War: $7 billion
American Revolution: $4 billion
Mexican War: $2 billion
War of 1812: $1 billion

Source: Congressional Research Service and Office of Management and Budget data.

Some are already estimating that the true cost of Iraq and Afghanistan will be in the neighborhood of $2-3 trillion when all is said and done... uh, that is if it ever, in fact, gets DONE. Geesh!

How much health care could be provided with that money? How many schools could that build? How many scholarships could it provide? How much innovative environmental research could it seed? How many job training programs could it establish? How many affordable housing units could it generate? How many bridges and roads could that fix? How many community arts grants could it fund? How many daycare centers could that support?

Brian DePalma's "Redacted" (on DVD Feb. 19)

See what they don't want you to see.

"An amazingly vigourous work" - TIME

A fictional story inspired by true events, REDACTED is a unique cinematic experience that will force viewers to radically reconsider the filters through which we see and accept events in our world, the power of the mediated image and how presentation and composition influence our ideas and beliefs.

Official Redacted Website

A Holiday Reminder...

For the full story of how this peace slogan and design was created back in 1967, click here: origin story

Art of Mental Warfare: "Warning" (music by Trent Reznor of NIN)

Woah. Here's another intense piece of propaganda...
(Please note that this video includes some tough images of injured and dead soldiers/civilians)


Any thoughts?

Do you know of any other interesting political propaganda pieces?

A New War Strategy?

Perhaps the folks from the Sixties have something to teach us, after all...?

☮ Vietnam Mix, pt. 2

Well, leave it to my students. One of them posted a recent version of my Vietnam Mix to the following links. It is a 4-CD version, so not everything listed in my previous post is here, but most of it is. If you want to download it, go for it:

Vietnam Mix CD1
Vietnam Mix CD2
Vietnam Mix CD3
Vietnam Mix CD4

These aren't permanent links ... they might only be available for a couple of days. Also, they might only have a certain amount of downloads on them before they expire, but I thought I'd post 'em nonetheless. Just unzip the files after you download and then import them into whatever audio system you use on your computer.

peace,
Patrick

The Music of the Vietnam Era

I am teaching my "America in the Sixties" class again this semester. Not surprisingly, students are drawn to the music of the period, so I do a lot with it in the course. Over the past few times I've taught the class, I've been expanding my Vietnam-era music mix. It is up to a 5th CD at this point. We don't deal with every track in class, but I put the following expanded mix on reserve so they can listen more broadly, if they'd like. Most do.

So, here is the list of tracks. I thought I'd share, but I am also always interested to hear suggestions for new tunes to add to any category and, I suppose, arguments to elimnate aything you think does not belong. The "patriotic/pro-war music" section is the weakest, so any suggestions there are particularly welcome...

Music about soldiers’ experiences:
• The Ballad of the Green Beret, Sgt. Barry Saddler
• Vietnam Blues, Sarge Lintecum
• Saigon, Saigon (Dinky Dow Do)
• Run Through the Jungle, Creedance Clearwater Revival
• Chain Of Fools, Aretha Franklin
• Green Eyed Lady, Guess Who
• To Susan On The West Coast Waiting, Donovan
• Battle Hymn Of The River Rats, Johnny Cash
• Izabella, Jimi Hendrix
• Oh, Camil (The Winter Soldier), Graham Nash
• Shakin All Over, The Guess Who
• Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town, Kenny Rogers & the First Edition
• Waist Deep In The Big Muddy, Pete Seeger
• Soldiers of Peace, Graham Nash
• These Boots are Made for Walking, Nancy Sinatra

Anti-war/protest music:
• I Ain't Marchin' Anymore, Phil Ochs
• Blowin' In the Wind, Bob Dylan
• I Got a Letter from LBJ, Tom Paxton
• Hell No, I Ain't Gonna Go, Matt Jones and Elaine Laron
• Vietnam, Paul Kaplan
• Hole In The Ground, Thom Parrott
• The Times They Are a-Changin', Bob Dylan
• Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Pete Seeger
• Draft Dodger Rag, Phil Ochs
• Universal Soldier, Buffy St. Marie
• Two Hangmen, Mason Profit Band
• Agent Orange Song, Country Joe McDonald
• Kill for Peace, The Fugs
• Looks Like We're Fixin' to Die Rag, Country Joe & the Fish
• Universal Soldier, Donovan
• Masters of War, Bob Dylan
• Eve of Destruction, Barry McGuire
• It Better End Soon, Chicago
• Gimme Shelter, Rolling Stones
• Ohio, Neil Young
• Maggie's Farm, Bob Dylan
• Fortunate Son, Creedance Clearwater Revival
• Power to the People, John Lennon
• What Are Their Names?, David Crosby
• Hey Joe, Jimi Hendrix
• Rejoyce, Jefferson Airplane
• Machine Gun, Jimi Hendrix
• Ballad of Penny Evans, Steve Goodman
• What About Me?, Quicksilver Messenger Service
• Street Fightin' Man, Rolling Stones
• For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield
• Give Peace a Chance, John Lennon
• All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix
• War, Edwin Starr
• Vietnam, Jimmy Cliff
• Ball Of Confusion, The Temptations
• What's Goin' On, Marvin Gay
• Singing in Vietnam Talking Blues, Johnny Cash
• Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore John Prine
• What is Truth, Johnny Cash
• We Gotta Get Out of this Place, The Animals
• Paint It Black, Rolling Stones
• Who'll Stop The Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival

Patriotic/Pro-war music:
• Okie from Muskogee, Merle Haggard
• Battle Hymn Of Lt. Calley, C Co (Feat. Terry Nelson
• Hello Vietnam, George Strait
• Fightin' Side of Me, Merle Haggard
• Song of the patriot, Johnny Cash & Marty Robbins

Counter-cultural/psychedelic music:
• White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane
• The Unknown Soldier, The Doors
• It Can't Happen Here, Frank Zappa
• Sky Pilot, Eric Burdon & The Animals
• Insense and Peppermints, Strawberry Alarm Clock
• Good Morning Starshine, Oliver
• Volunteers, Jefferson Airplane
• That's It For The Other One, Grateful Dead
• All You Need Is Love, The Beatles
• Break On Through, The Doors
• Cream Puff War, Grateful Dead
• Mary Jane, Janis Joplin
• Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, The Beatles
• Tales Of Brave Ulysees, Cream
• Get Together, The Youngbloods
• Beautiful Jam, Grateful Dead
• Revolution 1, The Beatles
• Walking Blues, Quicksilver Messenger Service
• I Need a Man to Love, Janis Joplin
• Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
• Tomorrow Never Knows, The Beatles
• Dear Mr. Fantasy, Traffic
• The End, The Doors
• In The Year 2525, Zager and Evans
• Morning Dew, Grateful Dead
• Star Spangled Banner, Jimi Hendrix
• Imagine, John Lennon

I also intersperse the following 60s news clips throughout my Vietnam mix. They come from a nice 2-CD set, featuring Walter Cronkite and Fred Friendly, titled, "I Can Hear It Now":
• NEWS: Tonkin Gulf Incident & Resolution (August 4, 1964)
• NEWS: Defoliate Jungle/Bombing Restraint, 1964
• NEWS: Burning of village of Cam Ne - (with Morley Safer)...
• NEWS: LBJ rap
• NEWS: Government officials voice optimism about war
• NEWS: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings
• NEWS: New Hampshire Primary: Sen. McCarthy challenges LBJ (1968)
• NEWS: Senator Robert F. Kennedy decides to run...
• NEWS: Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, '68...
• NEWS: "I've been to the mountain top..." - (with Martin Luther King)...
• NEWS: Robert F. Kennedy Speaks Of Dr. King And Violence (1968)
• NEWS: Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy , 1968
• NEWS: 1968 Democratic National Convention...
• NEWS: Demonstrations at Columbia University...
• NEWS: Vice President Spiro Agnew castigates news media...
• NEWS: Nixon on End of War
• NEWS: Nixon policy speech, November 3, 1969
• NEWS: Reprise On Tonkin Gulf Resolution (February 6, 1970)
• NEWS: Nixon rap
• NEWS: Nixon, "We are caught in war, wanting peace..."
• NEWS: Peace demonstration/moratorium, Oct. 15, '69 & Nov. 15, '69...
• NEWS: Nixon rap

☮ UNL NFP Leads Game Day "Die-In"

The UNL chapter of Nebraskans for Peace lead a "die-in" today on campus before the nationally televised USC-UNL football game. The idea behind the protest was to take the peace movement to people who are outside of the "choir" and to confront them with the question, "What will you DO to end the occupation?" About 30 people, including some members of the Lincoln Coalition for Peace, put their bodies on the ground in symbolic protest of the ongoing Iraq war. The response from the sea of red and white passers-by was often indifferent, but of those that gave a response, I would say that more than half were positive and supportive and only a few were hostile or angry. At one point an older gentleman engaged two of the protesters and later a young vet angrily jawed at the group. In both cases, the demonstrators talked back in calm and deliberate tones and, I think, won the day. Both the older man and the younger military guy softened their views (retreated, in fact) by the end of the exchange. Special credit should be given to Nic Swiercek, a first year graduate student in the History Department, who deftly defused the angry military guy. It was a good event and all of the participants should feel very positive about it!

Here is what the Daily Nebraskan had to say about the "die-in":
Daily Nebraskan on "die-in"

Here are a bunch of photos (click any photo to enlarge):